Girls having abortions are getting younger

SINGAPORE: The number of teen abortions has been falling steadily in recent years but medical counsellors say the girls undergoing abortions are getting younger. Some of them are as young as 16 years of age. The counsellors say it could be due to girls falling in love earlier, not having enough communication with their parents or not knowing enough about sex. KK Women's and Children's Hospital senior medical social worker Ang Lee Beng said: "We do see younger people getting into relationships like in secondary school and when they start a relationship, it's likely to get very intimate and developed into a sexual relationship." On average, about three girls undergo an abortion daily. According to Singapore's Health Ministry, there were 1,396 abortions in 2006 for girls under 20 years of age, compared to 1,099 cases of abortions last year. This makes up to about nine per cen...